President Donald Trump made plain that his third campaign trip to Montana Thursday is driven by a desire to hit back at Democratic Sen. Jon Tester for helping torpedo the nomination of White House physician Ronny Jackson to run the VA.

Trump brought up Tester's role in the fiasco of Jackson's nomination to run the Department of Veterans' Affairs in a tweet Wednesday evening – blasting Tester for 'vicious' statements about Admiral Jackson.

Tester, who is in a toss-up race that will help determine control of the Senate and leads narrowly in polls, revealed information that came to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, where he is the top Democrat, which helped lead the nomination to blow up.

President Donald Trump continues to go at one of his favorite targets - Senator Jon Tester (above).

'Ever since his vicious and totally false statements about Admiral Ron Jackson, the highly respected White House Doctor for Obama, Bush & me, Senator John Tester looks to be in big trouble in the Great State of Montana!' Trump wrote on the eve of his trip here.

'He behaved worse than the Democrat Mob did with Justice K!' Trump added, in reference to Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose nomination was narrowly confirmed on a 50 to 48 vote. Tester voted against both Kavanaugh and Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump's previous nominee.

While vulnerable, Tester has led in three recent polls, and has a three point edge over his opponent in the latest RealClearPolitics average.

Jackson was revealed after his nomination to be close to Trump, with regular contact with him in the East Wing. But he soon came under fire for his office's practice of liberally distributing prescription medications on presidential trips – evening earning the moniker 'Candy Man' during the Obama administration.

'That's not a nickname you want in a doctor. And if you consider the prescription drugs [problem] we have a problem within this country right now, it's not the example we need to have set,' Tester told CNN in April.

'Ever since his vicious and totally false statements about Admiral Ron Jackson (above), the highly respected White House Doctor for Obama, Bush & me, Senator John Tester looks to be in big trouble in the Great State of Montana!' Trump tweeted on Wednesday

'We were told time and time again, the people above him, he treated like gold. The people below him, he belittled, screamed at them, really created a very toxic environment to the point where the people that worked around him felt like they had to walk on eggshells because of his lack of respect for their jobs,' he said, based on information that sources gave his committee

Trump called out the Democrat for accusing former White House doctor Ronny Jackson of drunken behavior after he was nominated to head up the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The president also suggested that Tester is in 'big trouble' in his race with Matt Rosendale in the build-up to the crucial midterms.

Outside groups and individual donors have poured more than $45million into Montana's U.S. Senate race as Trump prepares a third trip to the Big Sky state in his crusade to unseat two-term Tester.

The contest is on pace to be the most expensive in Montana history, and it's been driven by Trump's apparent personal interest in Tester's defeat and his efforts to ensure Republicans keep power in the Senate.

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But he's stayed competitive with $14million spent by deep-pocketed conservative groups on his behalf, largely on ads attacking Tester on guns, immigration and taxes, according to an Associated Press review of spending reports.

But he also has out-of-state backers: Political committees representing conservation groups, hospitals and banks.

Trump targeted Tester for defeat after the Democrat made allegations public that derailed the president's Veteran Affairs nominee, Jackson, in April.

The allegations against the White House doctor included drunken behavior, overprescribing prescription drugs and fostering a hostile work environment.

Jackson has denied the accusations.

Trump is expected to again go on the attack against Tester during a Thursday campaign rally for Rosendale at the Missoula airport.

Trump is expected to again go on the attack against Tester during a Thursday campaign rally for Tester's opponent, Matt Rosendale, at the Missoula airport. Trump is seen right with Rosendale (left) in Billings, Montana on September 6

It's the latest in a parade of White House visits to Montana that have included Vice President Mike Pence and the president's son, Donald Trump, Jr.

Montana voters backed Trump by 20 percentage points in 2016.

Rosendale, currently serving as state auditor and insurance commissioner, has staked his campaign on a bet that those voters will come out for him in November.

Like Trump, Rosendale has sought to capitalize on anger over the Supreme Court confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh - by attempting to draw parallels with Tester's actions involving Ronny Jackson.

'The people across the state have witnessed the tactics of Washington Democrats - which Jon Tester has clearly become a part of - simply trying to smear people and distort facts and maintain power,' Rosendale said in an interview.

Tester voted against confirming Kavanaugh, citing his stance on campaign finances and personal privacy, and the sexual assault allegations against the judge by Christine Blasey Ford.

The Democrat rejected the argument that he's changed since he took office and said Republicans employed similar strategies during the campaigns that he won in 2006 and 2012.

'In order to beat me you've got to make me into something I'm not. And that's what they've done their level best to do,' Tester said.

'Look, Montanans know who I am, they know I'm a lifetime Montanan, they know I understand rural America, they know I understand public lands and not privatizing them.'

The race could soon surpass the state's previous most costly election, when $47million was spent leading to Tester's narrow win over former U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg in 2012.

Outside spending in this cycle already exceeds $25million, according to the AP's review.

That figure includes more than $1million spent by groups that favored Rosendale and attacked his GOP opponents in the June primary.

Trump targeted Tester for defeat after the Democrat made allegations public that derailed the president's Veteran Affairs nominee, White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson, in April. Trump and Jackson are seen at the White House in August 2017

Among those backing Rosendale and opposing Tester are two political committees, Restoration PAC and Club for Growth, that are funded by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein and another committee, the Senate Reform Fund, that's primarily funded by Texas oil executive Tim Dunn.

Tester meanwhile has benefited from than $11million in outside spending promoting his candidacy and attacking Rosendale.

That includes spending by the political arms of the League of Conservation Voters, the American Hospital Association and the American Bankers Association, which endorsed Tester following his leading role in the effort to change the Dodd-Frank financial law.

Between the candidates themselves, Tester holds a commanding advantage in fundraising, with $17million in contributions so far this election cycle and $1.8million in the bank as of Sept. 30, according to campaign filings submitted this week to the Federal Election Commission.

Rosendale brought in about $3.7million in contributions and had $622,000 in cash Sept. 30, the filings show.

At some point, said Jeremy Johnson, a political analyst at Carroll College in Helena, the money imbalance can get lost in the wash, amid the flood of advertisements now saturating voters' mailboxes and television screens and the websites they visit.

Montana State University analyst David Parker said Tester's cash lead is significant, because candidates typically get better rates when buying advertisements than outside groups.

'Tester, as a result, can have more penetration and control his own message,' Parker said.